It’s a week for new or relatively new comics! And that’s always fun. Astonishing Iceman attempts to win our hearts with a second issue, while DC tries to win me over with a Batman and Robin focused team book.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Avengers Inc. #1 for absolutely nailing the tone and premise its going for in its first issue.

Meanwhile, still playing Baldur’s Gate 3, because I’m a slave to that game. I’ll beat it one of these days! Other than that, I really enjoyed the latest issues of Ahsoka, so that’s a quality show. And Star Trek: Lower Decks has started up again, so I’m happy with that. Lots of good content to devour these days, and even more to come in the near future.

Comic Reviews: Astonishing Iceman #2, Avengers Inc. #1 and Batman and Robin #1.

Astonishing Iceman #2
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Vincenzo Carratu
Colorist: Java Tartaglia
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham

Iceman is probably my favorite mainstream X-Man, and Steve Orlando is writing one of my favorite comics at Marvel right now, so I’m still on board.

The Elements of Doom attack Iceman’s hometown and Helium, the Unfreezable Man, threatens to kill his mother. So Iceman heads out and stops them, sending Helium into orbit. This stretches him rather thin, but Romeo is able to bring him back at their ice lair. With the Elements defeated, Orchis now turns to The Cleaner.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

This comic as a whole just isn’t grabbing me like Scarlet Witch is. Iceman’s current status quo is just overall a bit confusing, and works to stop him from being grounded and establishing a foundation. He’s an ethereal being who lives in Antarctica with a pre-established boyfriend, and who fights the forces of Orchis anywhere in the world. It’s a light and breezy comic to an extent, and all of that is fine. I enjoyed Iceman figuring out how to one-up Helium, even if Helium and the other Elements weren’t particularly compelling villains. And I really enjoyed Iceman interacting with his mom, and the hometown feel of it all. I think more time could have been spent in the town, instead of just this single issue, to really drive those feelings home. But this one-off still worked in that regard.

I’m just not feeling anything deeper with this comic yet. It doesn’t possess the magic that makes Scarlet Witch so much fun to read, pun intended. Bobby’s condition is very up in the air right now, also pun intended. So I don’t really have solid ground for this series. Romeo remains a complete unknown, so that doesn’t help in building a foundation. And it’s not clear why Iceman is doing what he’s doing, other than just to be heroic. The X-Men have established several different avenues of resistance in Fall of X, but that’s being kept separate from Iceman just going out and being awesome. Not that i need the connection, but again, it would help with giving this series a firmer foundation on which to tell its stories. For now, it’s just this light, airy comic where Iceman uses his powers to creatively fight random bad guys.

TL;DR: A solid second issue that has a lot of fun with its main character, but the series as a whole feels too light and breezy to really get behind just yet.

Avengers Inc. #1
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Leonard Kirk
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit

I very much enjoyed Ewing’s Wasp and Ant-Man anniversary comics over the past few years, and so I was more than eager to dive into this new series.

Whirlwind was assassinated in his prison cell at the Raft, and Janet Van Dyne goes to investigate — only to discover five other dead supervillains, all shot in the head in the exact same way, with no evidence of who did it. Luke Cage gets her to start investigating, as long as she doesn’t use costumes or codenames. When she goes back to check out the bodies for more evidence, all six wake up and start a fight — except someone calling themselves “Victor Shade” wakes up in Whirlwind’s body and helps. Victor Shade is an old secret identity The Vision used to use, but this isn’t the Vision. Wasp is able to pull some strings and get this guy released to her custody to help with her investigation. They’re going to be Avengers Incorporated!

Also, who was behind the dead/re-alive supervillains? We see that it’s an old man claiming to be Doctor Pym! And he’s working with Eric O’Grady!

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

Right off the bat, this comic succeeds in exactly what it sets out to do. Ewing has Jan narrate the issue like a classic noir detective, and it’s a fun way to read this book. A classic superhero solving hero and villain-related murder mysteries is a great premise. Yes, it’s been done before, but it’s not being done elsewhere right now, so I’m all in to see what happens. We get a ton of good mystery, a ton of good detective work and some really strong character work for Janet.

Though I think the issue really drops the ball in giving her a cool, non-costume look. The dialogue sets up a big page turn where she actives “Wardrobe Zero” for this mission…and this is what she’s wearing.

Granted, I know nothing of fashion, but that’s the best Leonard Kirk could come up with for Janet Van Dyne, Avenger detective?

Anyway, the mystery is also really fun. I love me some obscure villains, and six of them dead with no idea how? Good mystery. Six of them waking up with no clue what happened? Excellent mystery. The fight is cool, the dropped clues are fun, the supporting characters really fill out the issue nicely. This issue is the whole package, and really sets up the series to come.

My only concern is this Vic Shade sidekick. An old secret identity of the Vision, given his own agency, possessing the body of Whirlwind? Ewing couldn’t have come up with a less complicated sidekick?

TL;DR: First issue nails the tone and the themes perfectly, kicking off what should be a fun new series.

Batman and Robin #1
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Simone Di Meo
Letterer: Steve Wands

Despite my general dislike of Damian, I’m not about to miss the start of a new series called Batman and Robin.

With the Gotham War underway and Batman cut off from the rest of the family, it’s just him and Damian as Batman and Robin. And as Bruce and his son, as Damian moves into the brownstone and starts living in that identity. They foil a zeppelin heist from White Rabbit, then have to awkwardly share a home, seeing as how both are unaccustomed to living like this. Bruce has enrolled Damian in high school, but he’s none too eager to go. Besides, he’s solved the zeppelin heist: it was a cover to kidnap a scientist.

They suit up and go check on the scientist, and he’s being kidnapped by a team that includes Killer Croc, Man-Bat, Orca and the Terrible Trio, who have now been mutated into real animal people versions of their masks. But they get away when a new, mysterious villain hits Batman with a gas pellet and he starts being attacked by a swarm of bats.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

This is a very strong opening issue for this new series, clearly establishing the new status quo between the Dynamic Duo. I loved the scenes of Bruce and Damian moving into the Brownstone together and then having breakfast the next morning. That was a hoot. And the set up of Damian going to high school should be fun…if it lasts. When was the last time a status quo stuck around for a member of the Bat-Family? Just sayin’. But I really like the idea of Bruce and Damian on their own, trying to make this work/life balance work, and this issue does a great job of setting that up and taking our first look at how it’s going to be. Very fun.

Then we’ve got the new crime to investigate. All the animal-themed villains working together is not a new concept in comics, but it’s fine in this issue. As is the mysterious new villain in the shadows. All good stuff. My only real complaint is that the art, while fun, can be a bit too wild at times for my tastes. It’s wild to the point that it’s not quite clear what’s happening when the story relies entirely on the artwork, like when the mystery villain snipes Batman from the shadows at the end of the issue. It’s clear they did something to Batman to stop his pursuit of Man-Bat, but I definitely needed it explained to me that he had been made to swallow some kind of gas pill. The art definitely has a frantic, kinetic feel to it that I like, but it’s not as crystal clear when it comes to some story beats.

Also, I think it’s a little silly that they brought back White Rabbit. I know she’s an animal-themed Batman villain, but the White Rabbit Marvel villain is also getting a lot of play these days. Surely there’s somebody to keep such obvious duplication from being so obvious, right? Again, just sayin’.

TL;DR: This new series is off to a good start, and the dynamic between the two main characters is a lot of fun so far.

The comics I review in my Hench-Sized reviews are just the usual comics I grab from Comixology any given week, along with a few impulse buys I might try on a whim. So if there are any comics or series you’d like me to review each week, let me know in the comments.

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